


A Silent Voice | A Drarry fanfiction

by Gay_Slytherin_Prince



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco Malfoy - Freeform, Drarry, Gay, Harry Potter - Freeform, M/M, Romance, draco x harry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-21 10:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21297962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_Slytherin_Prince/pseuds/Gay_Slytherin_Prince
Summary: Since Harry entered the Dursley's home, Harry was forbidden to talk and was presented to others as mute. With the abuse lingering within him and having never been able to put it into words, when Hagrid arrives with his letter he uncovers more than just the opportunity to learn magic. He makes friends with an unlikely person from Slytherin house and their lives become entwined as Draco tries to teach him the intricacies of human speech.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not a chapter. This part is merely to showcase the cover a description of the story. Chapter two is chapter one, if you like.

**Description**

**Since Harry entered the Dursley's home, Harry was forbidden to talk and was presented to others as mute. With the abuse lingering within him and having never been able to put it into words, when Hagrid arrives with his letter he uncovers more than just the opportunity to learn magic. He makes friends with an unlikely person from Slytherin house and their lives become entwined as Draco tries to teach him the intricacies of human speech.**


	2. Chapter 2

Awe filled Harry as he stood on platform nine and three quarters. Ever since he was young, Harry had been told that magic was not real and his imagination had been tainted because of it. But now he knew it was real. He had a wand, his robes and his books, he even had a tale as to how he had gotten his scar. Everything he had been told was a lie. But now he knew the truth. The truth about his past, the truth about his parents and the truth about his future. Harry breathed in nervously, his heart beating in his chest. The scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts express whistled loudly, shouting over the chatter of parents and students alike. 

Mothers and fathers were making sure their children looked smart and ready for a term away from home, lovingly waving them goodbye and making sure they didn't forget their underwear. Harry, however, stood alone. He had nobody to gawk at this magic place with him, to be as wonder-filled as he was. Despite this, Harry smiled as he clambered onto the train, excited to try something new. Of course, he was scared but he remembered all his uncle's rules, so as long as he obeyed them all he should be fine. 

Finding an empty compartment was quite the task but Harry found one none the less. He sat down by the window and looked out at the platform. They'd be leaving soon; Harry's smile faded as he thought about the possibilities. Sure, he had the opportunity to make friends but what if people thought he was a freak for his issue? For his disability? 

"Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy. Who are you?" A boy opened the compartment door and sat on a chair opposite Harry. Harry pulled out his notebook and began writing on it, first putting his finger up to tell the blond he would show him once he was done. He held up the notebook, a nervous smile on his lips. Draco read it out loud. "**Hi Draco, I'm Harry and I can't talk. **You're mute? Woah! That must be really difficult. Do you know sign language?"

Harry shook his head, still smiling out of relief. Sometimes people teased and bullied him for not being able to speak but it wasn't his fault that he couldn't. 

"Wait a minute. No way! Are you - are you Harry Potter?" Harry nodded, showing Draco his scar to prove it. Draco seemed to change his demeanour, intrigued yet alarmed. He itched his ear, not sure what to say. "My father is rather stern with this sort of thing, so I won't be able to write about being friends with you in my letters to him. He just wouldn't understand."

Harry went to write again, pulling out his notebook. He showed it to Draco who read it in silence this time. 

'**It's okay, my uncle doesn't like hearing about me either. That's why I can't talk.**'

"Wait, what do you mean by that, Harry?" Draco asked, his face scrunching up slightly. Harry quickly penned down **'well, my uncle says that talking isn't allowed and doesn't let me talk at home. So I've never spoken before'. **Draco looked at Harry, the sound of the train moving being the only sound to keep away the silence. "Harry, did your uncle ever... hurt you?"

Frantically, Harry shook his head and dropped his book onto the ground. Draco picked it up only to have Harry snatch it from him, obviously not wanting Draco to see its contents. Draco decided that it would probably be best to change the subject, diverting from family life to the houses they'd be sorted into. It seemed that Harry didn't know what the houses were so Draco explained.

"At Hogwarts, there are four houses..."

**_____________________________**

Nervously, Harry stood in the great hall waiting for his name to be called. Draco stood beside him looking equally nervous but he didn't say anything about it, pretending to be confident like his father had instructed before he had gotten onto the train earlier that day. 

Names were called out and people were sorted into either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin, which Harry had discovered was the house Draco wanted to be in. Harry also knew that he didn't want to be in Gryffindor since Draco said that Gryffindors were annoying and stuck up, always thinking that they are better than everyone just because of the colour of their ties. 

"Draco Malfoy." Professor McGonagall - the transfigurations teacher - called out suddenly. Draco swaggered up to the stool and sat down. The hat was barely placed on his head before it roared '**Slytherin**'. The Slytherin table applauded, happy to have a new addition to their table. Harry noted that most of the people on the Slytherin table didn't look very nice at all, and booed when somebody got sorted into another house that wasn't Slytherin. "Harry Potter."

Pulled out of his thoughts, Harry walked up to the stool with jelly legs. People were chattering around him, curious as to which house the famous Boy-who-lived would be sorted into. Taking a deep breath, Harry sat on the stool and waiting for the hat to be placed on his head. **'Ah! Harry Potter! Not Gryffindor? I wouldn't dream of it with your mind. Far too clever and far too shy... perhaps Ravenclaw? No... Slytherin? Hmmm... better be...'**

"Hufflepuff!" The Hufflepuff table cheered and clapped the loudest any table had clapped that night, causing the shy and reserved Harry to blush brightly and hurry to his seat. Professor Sprout, who Harry assumed was the head of Hufflepuff house, cheered the loudest of them all and had a bright, radiant smile plastered on her lips. Harry smiled. He'd never felt so welcome.

"Hey, Harry! Welcome to Hufflepuff house! We are all friends here and are so happy to see you have joined! My name is Cedric Diggory!" Said the third year cheerily. Harry pulled out his notebook and wrote that he was mute and couldn't speak, only making the attention that was on him even greater. "Wow! You're the first mute person I've ever met. All the more pleasure to meet you." 

Looking up to the Slytherin table, he could see that Draco was looking at him with a small frown on his face. Harry waved at him and Draco waved back discreetly. Harry just hoped that the two of them could still be friends.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't worry, Potter. You can still learn magic even if you can't talk."

Luckily, Harry and Draco still spent most of their time together outside of lessons. The Hufflepuff house didn't mind at all since Draco seemed to behave so kindly to Harry and never teased him for not being able to talk. However, the Slytherins did not return the same curtsy towards Harry and Draco's friendship.

Just last week, Pansy Parkinson had told Harry that he must be being used by Draco and that Draco only wanted to become his friend so he could turn him over to Voldemort. However, Voldemort was thwarted so Harry knew that there was no way this could be true. This sort of cruelty was also aimed at Draco, most of the Slytherins accusing him of being a 'fake' Slytherin and a softy for caring about a Hufflepuff. Draco tried to pay no heed to them, but when you have to share a dorm with them it was difficult. 

"Hey, Harry? Why do you think the other Slytherins care so much about me being your friend?" Draco asked one afternoon by the lake after Harry's potions lesson and Draco's Herbology. Harry shrugged sadly, not knowing what else to say. "I just wish the sorting hat had chosen differently. Perhaps I don't belong in Slytherin, after all."

Kindly, Harry reached over and put his arm around Draco, putting his head on his shoulder out of _friendly_ affection. Draco smiled Sadly, returning the gesture as they both gazed out to the lake. They didn't need words. All they needed was this.

* * *

"Mr Potter, I know it's hard for you to learn spells, but it isn't impossible; you will need extra lessons so you can learn how to say your spells silently. I am willing to teach them to you if you chose to accept." Minerva McGonagall - his transfiguration teacher - said after one lesson. Harry smiled brightly, elated at the proposition. Harry gave Minerva a hug which made the professor smile. She'd never seen somebody so enthralled by the opportunity to learn before. "Alright then, Potter. We'll start tomorrow." 

Bounding down the corridor, all Harry could think about were the opportunities he'd have and the magic he'd learn with the help of Minerva. He was so excited and he couldn't wait to tell Draco after dinner. Harry sat next to Cedric Diggory and Susan Bones and told both of them about the extra lessons he'd be doing with his notebook.

"Harry, that's great!" Said Susan cheerfully. Cedric agreed excitedly. Harry couldn't believe his luck. He had such great friends and more opportunities then he had ever believed he'd have. What did it matter what the Slytherins, besides Draco, thought? 

After dinner, Harry skipped over to Draco to tell him everything. Draco was more than just pleased, he was ecstatic. He told Harry about how his mother and father could do silent magic and that you usually didn't learn it until your last years at Hogwarts because it was really advanced magic. This didn't discourage Harry as he knew that as long as he put his mind to it, he could do anything. He even told Draco that in his notebook.

"Then why don't you speak?" Draco asked, sensing that Harry wasn't telling him something. Harry shook his head, knowing that he couldn't. He wasn't allowed. It just wasn't something he could do. **Anything but that** Harry wrote silently.

Draco had a plan to make Harry speak. He entered the Hufflepuff common room with the help of Cedric Digory that Saturday afternoon and sat by the fireplace waiting for Harry. Nobody questioned why Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, was in the Hufflepuff common room. They all knew he was there for Harry.

It wasn't long before Harry came into the room, bounding up towards Draco, a huge smile on his face. He had just been to his extra lesson so he could learn silent magic. He told Draco in his notebook that he had managed to use wingardium leviosa without having to say it, and that Professor McGonagall was ever so shocked he'd done it in his first lesson with her.

"Well done, Harry! You must be a very powerful wizard if you can do spells like that already!" Draco told Harry who went red and looked down, smiling. Draco smiled, too. The smile quickly vanished off of Harry's face when Draco spoke next. "Harry, I'm going to be giving you extra lessons, too. I'm going to teach you how to talk."

Fear shone in Harry's eyes and Draco became even more worried about Harry's home life than ever. What had the Dursleys done to make him so scared of talking? Had they threatened him? Yelled at him? Or worse? Draco shuddered at the thought, bringing his attention back to Harry. Harry had his notebook in his hand and was writing something down. He showed Draco, who read it quietly. 'Promise not to tell my uncle, aunt or cousin?'

"I promise, Harry." Said Draco, worriedly. "Lessons start this evening."

* * *

The first speech lesson was spent outdoors close to the Quidditch pitch out of sight. Draco and Harry sat opposite each other with their legs crossed and knees touching. Harry looked nervous yet he had a glint of excitement in his bright green eyes.

"Okay, so first I'm going to teach you how to make the sounds," Draco said, thinking that that would be a good place to start. "We'll start with 'Aah' and go through the rest of the alphabet when you've got that down. Okay, so, after me, 'Aah!'"

"Aah -" Harry started coughing profusely, his voice not used to the strain. The sound had been gruff and quiet, but Draco couldn't stop smiling and hugged him suddenly, telling him he was so proud that Harry had done it so quickly despite his fear of what his family might do to him. Draco told him to try it again. "Aah! Aah! AAH!"

"Well done, now it's time for Buuh." Harry and Draco worked through the alphabet, 'K' and 'R' being the only ones he struggled with after that. After that, Draco called it a night since it was getting late and was nearing curfew and said they should meet there again tomorrow. "And I'll even try to teach you a word!"

Harry went to sleep, very happy about the fact he was learning magic and learning how to speak. He fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next day, Sunday, went by quickly and Harry was looking forward to meeting up with Draco and learning to say a word. Harry had never said a word before and he was very excited. Draco and Harry met up at the same place and sat in the same position, legs crossed opposite each other. Draco asked Harry word he'd like to learn first and Harry pulled out his notebook and showed it to Draco. 'I'd like to learn your name, Draco.'

"My - my name?" Draco repeated, feeling flattered beyond belief. Harry nodded, his mouth upturned at the edges. Draco nodded and cleared his throat. "Okay, so, repeat after me, Harry. Dray-co"

"Dwako!" Harry said, his voice still ruff like yesterday. Harry coughed a little bit. He looked embarrassed at the miss pronunciation and tried again through the splutters. Draco watched him calmly. Harry was trying so hard and Draco could see that. "Drayo. Draco!"

Draco was so pleased he could kick a cat up a mountain. He gave Harry the biggest hug anybody had ever given another human being and Harry, still smiling. Said it again. Everything was going so well, Draco thought as himself and Harry walked back to the castle, Harry saying Draco's name at every opportunity.


	4. Magpies and Zabini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Got enough money for your mum's sex toys now, Zabini?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you are enjoying so far! I appreciate constructive criticism, as long as you're nice!

"He's like a child, Malfoy. He learnt to say his Daddy's name first. Does he not love mummy? Oh, wait, his mummy's dead!" Zabini taunted Draco and Harry as they walked to their first lesson when he heard Harry say Draco's name. Draco tensed, knowing that this could take an emotional toll on Harry. 

"Hey, Zabini, is mummy still killing her husband's for money? Or has she racked up enough to pay for your schooling and her sex toys now?" Draco barked back, taking the insults to Harry to heart as if they were aimed at him. Zabini scoffed, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Now, if you don't mind, Harry and I are going to our lesson to actually get a job and not have to murder to make our pay." 

"Watch your mouth, Malfoy. Traitors go to hell." Malfoy paled slightly at the comment, but Zabini had already left. Harry didn't need to know about what Draco's family really were, or what Draco had been raised to be. It didn't matter. He didn't want to be one, anyway. And he wasn't going to be.

The lessons dragged on until they got to Divinations which, oddly, Draco was looking forward to. The Slytherins were with the Hufflepuffs, meaning he'd get to spend the lesson with Harry. He might even teach him a new word when Professor Trelawney wasn't looking. When they walked into the class, Harry and Draco walked to sit together at the front. They knew most of the Slytherins sat at the back, so they'd have less chance of trouble this way. Susan Bones waved at Harry and Draco and they waved back, Harry with his biggest grin. When Trelawney walked into the room, she had an odd look about her, a look odder than usual. When asked, she told them the sky was red and it meant blood had been spilt. Draco suppressed a laugh. Trelawney noticed and walked up to him. 

"Oh, there is something in your aura. The boy... Harry Potter. You care about him a lot. It is in your destiny." She said with a hint of craze gleaming in her eyes. The Slytherins burst into laughter and Harry blushed. "His first word is what Harry cares about most. The first word he says. Oh yes... now today we're learning about -"

"Haha! His first word was your name Malfoy. Being gay is your problem, Potter. Probably why you couldn't fucking talk and learnt your first word at eleven. You're like an adult baby!" Zabini said. The Hufflepuffs roared in outrage, and even some of the Slytherins looked pissed of at Zabini's crude remark. Zabini didn't seem to care, and some of the Slytherins sniggered. 

"Zabini, shut up," Susan said, her nerves pushed back for her friends. Hufflepuffs could be brave sometimes. If they needed to be for their friends. Loyalty was important to them. "You're like an annoying song that won't stop playing on the radio."

Angrily, Zabini went to speak but was cut off by Trelawney who started the lesson, talking about Magpies. 

"One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy. Five for silver, six for gold, and seven for a secret never to be told," she said dramatically. Throwing her arms about on the last one and looking at the ceiling as if it was a murderer. "If you see one, you better salute to it and say 'Hello Mr Magpie, how's your wife?'. It's the only way to reverse the spell."

"What if the Magpie is a Mrs?" Asked someone.

"Or not married?"

"Or gay?"

"Like Malfoy and Potter." Said Zabini. Harry blushed and looked down at his hands. Rolling his eyes, Draco told Harry not to worry about them. They're just childish. After all, there's nothing wrong with being gay. 

"Hey Harry, time for your speaking lesson," Draco said, a lone Magpie flying past the window. Draco walked up to Harry who opened his mouth to call his name. All that came out was a choked whisper, followed by a loud, echoey cough. Draco sighed. "A sore throat means no talking for you. It isn't used to being used." 

Looking down, Harry nodded sadly. He was hoping to learn to say a lot of new words today but his voice had to have rest. These things took time. Harry and Draco walked to the lake instead, where they set to work on their homework. Draco told Harry about this one time when he was younger he had a sore throat and his father told him to stop playing games with him and just talk to him, not realising he had a sore throat.

"You stuck on question four?" Draco asked Harry, noticing Harry's long pause as they worked on their potions homework. Harry nodded, putting the feather of his quill to his lips as he silently looked at the sheet. "Where can you find a Bezoar, let me give you a hint. It's in an animal of some kind. Make sure you write the body part down." 

Something went off in Harry's brain and his quill hit the paper - before remembering to add ink - and he wrote down 'the stomach of a goat'. Draco confirmed that was the right answer as Harry looked over the next question, coughing and clearing his throat every thirty or so seconds. 

**_________________**

"Draco!" Harry called a few days later, his voice sounding better now. Draco was pleased he'd be able to teach him some more words and pulled out a book - 'Tales of Beedle the Bard', and lead Harry to the corner of the Hufflepuff common room. Draco opened it to the first page, the story entitled 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot'. 

"Okay, so slowly try reading some of these words out loud. We have a few hours until dinner." Draco said, handing Harry the open book. Harry looked nervously down at it. He only knew one word. Draco knew this would be challenging but Harry had already heard most of these words before, so Draco thought it might be a way of him learning words more efficiently. "Let's see how you read the first page. I'll help you if you say anything wrong. It's okay if you mess up."

Nodding, Harry scanned over the first few words, making sure he understood what they said. As Draco waited for Harry to start, he looked over at Cedric who smiled at him, proud that a Slytherin could show such kindness to somebody less fortunate than him.

"T-there was... once a - kindly old_ wisad _-" Harry went red and Draco told him how to say 'wizard' properly. "Old wiz-ard, wizard, wizard! Wizard who used his magic _generously_ \- Draco..."

"Harry, you're doing so well. Don't be disheartened. Repeat after me - generously." Harry repeated after him and continued reading, struggling a couple of times on words such as 'antidote' 'potions' 'cauldron' and 'dispensing'. He managed to get through the whole story and Draco told him they'd do the next one tomorrow. Harry was so happy and he managed to say a whole new sentence with the words he just learnt. 

"Y-you're a kind wis - wizard, Draco," Harry said shakily, stumbling slightly on some of the words. Draco smiled and put his arm around him, never being happier. He was so grateful he could help Harry, and so grateful he could be the one to teach him to speak.

"Thank you, Harry. Thank you."

"F-f-fank you, Draco."

* * *

"Mr Potter, I have heard you are learning to talk? Would you like any help with learning?" Asked professor McGonagall. Harry shook his head. He didn't need any extra help. He already had someone helping him. 

"Draco... is... help-ing me," Harry said shakily. Professor McGonagall gave Harry a warm smile. It was lovely to see someone being helped by someone more fortunate than them without judgement. Draco, a Malfoy, was treating a Hufflepuff with such care. She dismissed Harry who walked back to the Hufflepuff common room, hoping to see Draco hanging out there. "Draco!"

Happily, Draco called Harry over to sit next to him and they began working before Cedric, Susan and some other Hufflepuffs came over with warm smiles. Harry and Draco said hello to them (Harry somewhat shakily) and waited to see what they were going to talk to them about.

"We've been talking, Draco," Susan started slowly, looking at him with a smile. Draco wondered what they'd been saying but didn't interrupt. "And it is only fair that we tell you now what we have been saying."

"Yes, we have decided that you are to be awarded something that the Hufflepuffs have never awarded someone before," Cedric said pulling something yellow out of his bag. "We'd like to award you this badge that crowns you an honorary Hufflepuff. You can still have your Slytherin title, but you are one of our own, too."

Draco stood up and hugged Cedric, Susan and the others, repeating thank you over and over again, before pinning the badge to his robes. He'd better take that off before going back to the Slytherin common room. 

When the commotion had died down, Harry and Draco sat back down on the sofa and Draco handed Harry the book. Harry began reading the next story, The Fountain of Fair Fortune. He was faster this time, still messing up. But he knew the sounds the letters made, he'd heard them for years. He'd just never said them.

"High on a hill in an... an en-chan-ted, enchan-ted - enchanted garden, enclosed by tall walls and pro-tect-ed... protected by strong magic, flowed the Foun-tain of Fair Fortune..." Harry read slowly and carefully as the Hufflepuffs watched, listened, Harry unaware. Soon, Harry came to the end. "The three witches and the knight set off down the hill together, arm in arm, and all four led long and happy lives, and none of them ever sus-pec-ted that the Fountain's waters carried no enchantment at all."

The common room burst into applause and Harry looked up and went red, not having noticed anybody was listening to him reading. He gave Draco a nervous look and Draco smiled. He was so proud of Harry's progress. He'd been doing so well. 

"Well done, Harry. I'm so proud of you." 

"Thanks, honor-arary Huffle-puff." Harry said, trying his best. Everything was amazing, and nothing could ever ruin this. Ever.


End file.
